


Distractions

by Joking611



Series: Cari'ssi'mi Drabbles [77]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/pseuds/Joking611
Summary: Things can get unruly when Sarah isn't home
Relationships: Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni
Series: Cari'ssi'mi Drabbles [77]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/624863
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	Distractions

**Author's Note:**

> Grunt and Aethyta return home from a mission, but with Shepard off planet, Liara has to deal with a bored krogan.

“Peeress?”

Liara’s eyes reflexively swept her desk, instantly categorizing everything on it. Datapads, handwritten notes, snatches of code, everything necessary to run a Great House was laid out before her.

She needed to make certain that was all that was visible.

Sarah loved to tease her that her identity as the Shadow Broker was nowhere near as closely held a secret as it had been with her predecessor. Yes, the majority of the surviving Normandy crewmembers were aware. As was Admiral Hackett. And her father. Also Denai, Shiala, Carvkae of all people, Tevos, which of course meant Aria as well, Iadri, due to the number of healing melds they'd shared… She paused, hands hesitating before deactivating the last of the datapads.

“Peeress?” Iryra repeated from the doorway.

Liara finished her deactivations before waving Iryra into the office.

It concerned her somewhat that she wasn’t able to list everyone who knew her secret with complete confidence. She was certain however that her _princeps_ was not among their number.

Iryra was at her elbow now, reminding Liara of the position that Kapheira often held at Benezia’s side. She shook her head, discarding the memory. She’d been thinking of her mother often of late.

“Yes, Iryra?” The woman was a competent administrator, but Liara had left her out of the more clandestine workings of House T’Soni. It put her at a disadvantage, and Iryra knew it. That knowledge damaged their working relationship somewhat, but Liara had no idea how to repair it without letting her into the inner circle.

Miranda would remind her that they’d trusted too many already. Miranda’s scoldings had started to take on slightly more weight lately, with Anedra nearly always standing silently behind her.

Those scoldings had also been tempered by Sarah’s gentle teasing, so there was that.

“Peeress, Aethyta has returned from Omega.”

Liara nodded at the news. “Excellent. I didn’t expect her so early in the day. Did you speak to her? Did my father relay any news about her mission?”

“No, Peeress. She said she was going to see her granddaughter, and then to the commissary. She mentioned something about whisky.”

“Of course she did.” Wonderful. So much for espionage. Not that Liara had thought the odds of their mission were particularly good. Yes, Aethyta still had many contacts in the Terminus, and there were plenty out there who still held her in respect, but her known association with Shepard was causing issues with the criminal element in those regions.

Not that Aria wasn’t having some of the same problems.

“Did you…” Liara didn’t need to finish the question.

“I informed the residence, Peeress. Asteria knows her grandfather is coming.”

“That’s a relief, thank you.” Aethyta’s idea of play was to terrorize the child, and Liara was hoping to be able to get some sleep tonight. Sometimes she didn’t regret growing up without her father present.

“Was there anything else?” Iryra seemed on the verge of another comment that she hadn’t yet decided to voice.

“The krogan did return with your father,” came the sotto voce reply.

Liara’s eyes narrowed. “‘The krogan’ has a name, Iryra,” she responded forcefully. If Sarah had been here…

“Apologies, Peeress. Grunt has returned as well.”

“He’s come _home_ , you mean.” Of all the insanity over the last few years, ending up with a krogan stepson was among the highest on Liara’s list. “That is to be expected, as they were traveling together.”

“As you say, Peeress.” Iryra’s response was impassive.

She sighed. “Is there a problem involving Grunt, Iryra?” Liara might take offense on his behalf, but she was very much aware that krogan enthusiasm could sometimes detract from the smooth operation of the estate.

“He was disappointed that Sarah was not on planet, Peeress.”

It was all Liara could do to suppress a smile. Disappointment was probably an understatement. Shepard, Grunt’s battlemaster and surrogate clan leader on Thessia, was who he measured himself against, and that as often as he was able. After a mission acting as Aethyta’s “bodyguard”, a role as superfluous as any Liara could imagine, Grunt likely had a great deal of energy to expend.

She did not envy who he chose to expend it upon.

“Perhaps he could spar with the huntresses.”

“If that is your wish, peeress.”

“Iryra, if you have another suggestion, please speak it. He probably had nothing to do during Aethyta’s travels. Eliata often reminds me that relief missions don’t challenge her commandos. It might do all of them some good.”

“I will make the suggestion, Peeress.” She turned to leave.

Liara watched her go, only reactivating her datapads once she was alone. _‘Disappointed,’_ she thought. _‘Goddess save us from a pouty krogan.’_

She knew she was being unfair. Grunt had become a trustworthy and reliable agent. He just seemed to burn with a nervous energy when he went too long without seeing Shepard. An outlet for it would do him some good.

Liara hoped her commandos were up to the task.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

She didn’t know how many hours had passed when she glanced up to see Denai leaning in the doorway. The matron was wearing the easy smirk she’d learned from Sarah.

Sometimes it was the little things that reminded Liara how much her bondmate had changed all of them.

“Yes, Denai?”

“Are you angry with the house guard, or are you just letting Grunt abuse them for his own amusement?”

Liara closed her eyes. “Tell me.”

Denai shrugged eloquently. “They’ve been sparring for hours.”

“You’re saying they need a break.”

“Of course they need a break. It isn’t like any of them are smart enough to back down on their own. The members of _Etalis_ and _Ririx_ squads have already amassed an impressive bruise collection, and if anyone else ends up in the infirmary, your next visit’s probably going to be from Iadri.”

“Perhaps I could ask Aethyta…” Liara mused.

Denai barked out a laugh. “She’s already down there. I think she’d taking bets.”

“Of course she is,” murmured Liara. “I presume you have an idea?”

“Send him into the practice arena.“

“None of the commandos are going to back down if he challenges them.”

“No, but it’ll slow things down a bit. At least this way he’ll only break one of your commandos at a time instead of everyone in the sparring hall.”

Liara pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Liara!”

Liara looked up as Carvkae barged into her office. The older maiden was the epitome of professionalism as far as her duties as a medtech were concerned. The rest of the time she was still… Carvkae.

“Yes?” This was obviously a visit of a personal nature.

“You have to stop it.”

“Stop what?” Asked Liara, suspecting she already knew.

“Grunt! He won’t stop challenging Kaedra!”

“He’s only challenging Kaedra?” She asked in confusion.

“Well, she’s the only one he said was any fun.”

Liara cocked her head.

“Well, everyone else, he eventually beats. Kaedra’s the only person left who’s still winning some of the time.”

“The only one?”

“Well, he hasn’t beaten Miranda either, but she just keeps him in a lift until he gives up.”

“I can see why that wouldn’t be any fun,” deadpanned Liara.

“I know! But Kaedra and I have _plans_ …”

Liara briefly wondered how many times she could invoke the goddess in a single day.

“I’ll take care of it,” she assured her friend.

Liara barely had time to register Carvkae’s smile before the other maiden turned and dashed from the room.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

She was encased in leather from neck to toe when she stepped out onto the floor of the practice arena. There were more people in the audience than she’d expected, but nothing like when Shepard was on the floor.

Grunt was pacing across from her, even now too excited to hold still.

She nodded to him, and to the matron who had been acting as _kritis_ during the sparring. The orange robed matron looked bored.

The matron dropped her _archi_ , the red cloth signifying the start fo the competition.

As expected, Grunt leapt at her the instant the _archi_ hit the ground, closing the distance between them almost faster than her eyes could follow.

Liara twirled her wrist, channeling dark energy that leapt from her fingertips to envelop the racing krogan, stopping him hard while he was less than five meters away.

The stasis field held him motionless, a perfect target as she unleashed a throw the likes of which she hadn’t discharged since the war.

The resulting detonation blew Grunt the length of the arena, crashing the krogan into the opposite side.

He looked up from the floor beneath the cracked wall she’d almost driven him through.

“Finally!” The krogan bellowed with a smile, before his head fell back again.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered before turning to return to her office.


End file.
